How Much Of Success Is Mindset And How Much Is Strategy?

Does your entrepreneurial journey feel like a bit of a roller coaster?

It probably comes as no surprise that starting a business is rewarding, but it also involves a lot of hard work and effort. (It really is a marathon, not a sprint.)

You have to be in it for the long haul – which is why you need both mindset and strategy.

But how much of success is mindset and how much is strategy?

Depending on who you ask, you will almost always get a different answer!

Regardless, it’s safe to say that if your entrepreneurial journey so far isn’t going the way you planned, then you may be focusing too much on one or the other.

And you’re not alone in that!

What happens if you focus solely on strategy…

When I first started my business, I focused entirely on strategy and thought my mindset was just fine thank you! I’m English, we don’t talk about our problems! I thought that if I just kept working and kept powering through I’d get to where I wanted to be.

I took very little time to celebrate my achievements and spent a lot of time thinking about my business and my personal life suffered as a result. But as I found out, you can have an incredible strategy and still not be as successful as you’d like.

You can do all the “right” things and still not make the progress that you want.

In my case, once I reached a certain level I got stuck. Even though I really truly believed I was ready for the next level. My subconscious threw on the brakes and said “Enough already! I am freaking out here!”.

Even though I had a great strategy, my mindset was getting in the way. I hadn’t dealt with all my “stuff” yet.

But what about the other extreme?

What happens if you focus solely on mindset?

We’ve probably all seen the “mindset is everything” quote shared on social media and some will say that success is ALL mindset.

But you can be in a great mindset – you can have the most amazing morning routine, recite as many affirmations as you like and wait on The Universe to your heart’s content – but if you don’t know what actions to take, you will go around in circles and have trouble making decisions in your business.

And if you are not making decisions, you won’t be implementing. And if you are not implementing, you won’t get ahead. (Unsurprisingly!)

This is why you need both mindset AND strategy

A huge part of the entrepreneurial journey is doing this mindset work and knowing that you have value.

If you don’t believe you can do this, you won’t try. If you’re afraid of failure, or success, or visibility, or people thinking you’re a fraud, then your subconscious is going to do everything possible to protect you.

Mindset work is about clearing all of that shit out and knowing that your work has value, knowing that people get results from it and not having anything to be afraid of.

Following your strategy means you don’t have to spend hours “doing all the things”. Once you have something convincing to sell and you know how to sell it, you can experiment with different ways of getting leads and then stick with the ones you like.

So back to our original question: how much of success is mindset and how much is strategy?

I believe it’s about a 50/50 split between the two. You need both to be successful. You need both to launch your new coaching business, or start a side business, or create a new premium offer.

It’s the intertwining of mindset and strategy that actually make the whole thing work.

The good news is, once you’ve reached that point where you’ve got both your mindset and strategy worked out, there’s nothing stopping you. I’ve found that now my mindset is on board with my strategy, everything is completely different.

I now feel completely thrilled for my new clients when they start with me, instead of being excited for them but part of me feeling afraid of the responsibility that comes with them.

I truly want more clients because I want to help more people, rather than feeling tempted to throw on the brakes to slow the whole thing down once I get some momentum.

I’m more productive than ever because ALL of me is on board with my vision for my future.

I’m able to help my clients through their own mindset struggles because of what I’ve learned over the past few years

And the best part is that you can do it too.

Getting your mindset on board and creating a strategy that suits your business model and the stage of business that you’re in will help you to succeed.

Remember that success is 50% down to your mindset and 50% down to your strategy. You can’t have one without the other.

Working on your mindset and your strategy is what will help you to create a sustainable business (no one hit wonders here!).

Having your subconscious on board (which is what your true mindset really is) will get you through the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey.

And having a great strategy will keep you focused on the right activities and help you to keep taking action.

One Response to How Much Of Success Is Mindset And How Much Is Strategy?

Hi Cat! I LOVE this post. As usual, the timing is excellent. I felt highly identified with your post, because I also focused initially on the strategic part of the business.
Mindset is something I’m working lately, I agree with you, we need 50/50 mindset and strategy to succeed. The big issue for me is make it work together.
Thank you for sharing this!